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“I’m really glad to hear that.” I paused, weighing the impact of this statement. “Does the involvement of the NSA mean General Maxwell will find out?”

He sighed. “He already knows. I’ll worry about that later.”

I wondered if we’d be summoned to the White House again, and whether we’d be lauded for helping the Brazilian government put a huge dent into a drug lord’s empire, or whether they’d now force Slash to take a vacation until Christmas.

“So, what about the drug compound? Are they going to leave it empty and let the trees grow as is?”

“I don’t know what they intend to do with the buildings, it’s more likely they will turn them into a park station. That’s up to the Brazilian government. But it’s a big no on letting those bioengineered trees grow. At this very moment, there are several agents poisoning the trees. They didn’t want to do a burn, as it would scar the land even worse than the clearing. Apparently the chemical they’re using will eliminate the coca trees and allow local vegetation to return. This should keep the Okampa as isolated as possible, given the recent events.”

“Please tell me all of this means we can return to Coari and the research station now.”

He paused. “You sure you feel up for that?”

“I most certainly do.” Now that I personally knew the villagers, their health and safety was even more important to me. “What about you?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good. So, what’s next?”

“That’s up to you and the chief. Any idea why he wanted you back at the village?”

I watched Amana and her new husband walk by, holding hands, both of them looking at his new mark on his wrist. Then she looked at me over her shoulder and smiled.

“Yeah, I think they wanted to say goodbye. I can go now. I’ll explain it all later. Let me see if I can get someone to lead me back to the compound—to you. Will you be waiting?”

“Always.” I could hear the tenderness in his voice. “I’ll always wait for you,cara.”

Chapter Fifty-Two

Slash

The research station seemed like a five-star hotel after being in the rainforest for so many days. A real bed. Hot water for shaving. Even wearing clothes again took some adjustment. It amused him that his pants were chafing his legs.

He’d insisted that Lexi get a full checkup at the hospital in Coari, even though she didn’t want one. They’d both been able to take showers and were given antibiotics and antiparasitic medicine as a precaution given their time spent in the rainforest. But even then, Lexi hadn’t wanted to spend a night in a hotel. She wanted to get back to the research camp as soon as possible, to check in with her cyber team and get caught up on what she’d missed.

His wife. She was by far the most amazing woman he’d ever known.

During the helicopter ride to Coari, Vicente told them the information on the drug cartel had to stay secret for the time being, which would allow the federal police to handle the release of the story and spin it in a way that would work for them. Slash was fine with that. As far as he was concerned, his phase in that part of the operation was done.

When they’d arrived back at the research station, they were swarmed with everyone greeting them and asking questions about what had happened. Gwen hugged him so hard, he was impressed. In fact, he was hugged enthusiastically by everyone, even those he didn’t know well. He wasn’t sure if it was because they were safe or because they’d returned to the research camp.

Guess it didn’t matter either way.

Martim was holed up in a Coari hotel, which was good because it would have been hard not to pound the guy to a pulp the second he set eyes on him. He was glad Salvador had beat them back to the camp by a couple of hours, so he’d already filled everyone in on some of the events of the past few days. Apparently, he’d also been sworn to secrecy regarding the narcotics operation, so for the time being, the story was his injuries had come about when he fell down a hill in the rainforest. He didn’t think Melinda, the medical doctor, bought it, but at least she didn’t press him on it.

“So, you and Lexi really got married?” Gwen asked him. “Salvador said you fought the chief for her and you had to brand each other with a tattoo on your wrists to mark your commitment to each other.”

“It’s not a tattoo,” Lexi answered, holding up the mark on her wrist. “It’s just a small mark from my engagement ring.”

“That’s really cool. Did it hurt?”

“A little.” Lexi glanced at him and he held up his wrist to show his mark, too.

“So, you had a ceremony and everything?” Natelli asked.

“Yes,” Lexi answered. “But it was really done just to ensure I wasn’t married off to someone else.”

“Wow,” Gwen said. “That sounds so romantic, dangerous, and...kind of weird.”